Odessa

Thank you very much, everyone, that's supremely helpful. Jane and hfbrew, thank you so much for taking the time to give me those very detailed responses about training to be a ballet teacher. You covered exactly what I wanted to know. Thank you very, very much! Jane – borrowing The Everyday Dancer from the library is a great thought, but sadly my local library charges me £5 to rent anything not in their very limited range that they have to order in, so it's literally cheaper for me to buy it! BUT, I ordered The Everyday Dancer from Abebooks on Thursday (this month it was a choice between The Everyday Dancer and a much-needed new bra…and, yes, I chose the book), so hopefully it'll arrive soon… Pas de Quatre – that looks great, thank you so much. I'll definitely put than on the list for next month.

Very sorry to bother everyone again, but I wrote the RBS an email last Friday, and have had no reply at all. As my questions are extremely qualitative, rather than quantitative, any telephone conversation would likely be very long, and therefore very expensive; and sadly I'm not financially solvent enough to afford it this month (nor can I buy The Everyday Dancer yet for the same reason)! But naturally, I don't want to put my writing on hold till I can finally afford that long phone conversation (and that's assuming, of course, that they'd help me; which I rather feel is in question after my disappointing email experience!), so, I'd be very grateful if someone could help me… First of all, I'd be extremely grateful if someone could settle for me the issue of this two-year or three-year length of the upper school in the 1970s, and what ages the upper school was for. The reason I ask is because on the RBS website, it says "The first five younger years of the School moved to White Lodge, Richmond Park in 1955/56 and became residential, combining general education and vocational ballet training. The final three years of study for more senior continued to be based at Barons Court." However, the quote from the ROH obituary for Gailene Stock that Bangorballetboy provided is pretty much indisputable; so, am I misinterpreting the quote on the RBS website? Oh, and on the subject of residential – was the upper school also residential in the 70s? Also, my questions about the 1970s are still, of course, outstanding – especially in regards to A. what academic training was given at the upper school back in the 1970s, and B. what training you needed in those days to become a ballet teacher (did you only need a qualification if you wanted to teach somewhere prestigious?), so I'd still be very grateful if anyone knows (and has the time to help me)! Thank you very much (again) for any help anyone can give me.

Thank you so much, everyone – that's so helpful! Jane – that link is fantastic! Thank you so much! Likewise, hfbrew – I would love to arrange a visit to the museum; I'm hoping to get down to London sometime this year for some other research, so I'll definitely go when I have the chance. Spannerandpony – LOL! I made the same mistake as you!! My heart turned to water when I thought they only started the upper school two years before 1990 – it was like, "I'm sure that's not what I read!" And bangorballetboy – thank you so much! It actually says on the RBS website, "The final three years of study for more senior continued to be based at Barons Court", so it's really helpful to have your "insider knowledge"! Two years is actually more helpful to me as a writer anyway… Marianne – 'The Everyday Dancer' sounds absolutely ideal! Thank you very much! thequays – thank you so much! That's such a fantastic idea! Pas de Quatre – thank you for telling me that about the classes; it's really brilliant to have these extra bits of detail. Nutcracker – I have had a look at it, but it was a little vague. For example, where it says, "general education was combined with vocational ballet training" – it was like, "…how general?" BD19 – I hope so. After a number of bizarre conversations with institutions where they've said they couldn't give any information because it "contravenes confidentiality" (it's like, "Whose confidentiality?!"), I have a little less faith; but I'll draft up an email to the school now. I must admit, though, half the trouble I have with contacting places direct is that I always get embarrassed by the inevitable, "What are you writing?" questions that (quite reasonably!) get asked. I'll steel myself… JulieW, you have such beautiful dogs! I have a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and she's a handful as it is! You very much have my respect for being able to handle two big dogs!! I love the way your Springer is standing on your foot…they love to do that, don't they? Anyway, I'm so grateful for everyone's help! Thank you very, very, very much, everyone!!

I didn't think of that, actually! I've been rather "off" ringing institutions up and asking them after my mum (also a writer) had to phone a number of places to ask them about procedure, and was told by almost all of them that they couldn't give her any information at all, about anything, because of "data protection". I could pretend just to be a ballet student rather than a writer, but I'm afraid my total lack of knowledge might betray me. I think the only place I've ever got any joy from when researching was the army... Do you think the school would know about the 70s stuff? JulieW's pretty much adressed my other questions, but if they could help me on 1970s procedure, it's certainly worth a try.

JulieW -- thank you so much; that's so helpful!! Love your dog you've got as your avatar -- what breed is it?

Hello. Would anyone be kind enough to answer some questions I have about the full-time courses at the Royal Ballet School for ages 16-18? I'm actually a writer, and would like to know this in regards to a character I'm writing. It doesn't focus on her time at the school, she's not the main character, and most of these points I don't actually have to address in the work itself; but I would like to know them for my own understanding of the character, and I really like to get details right. So I'd really appreciate any help anyone would be kind enough to give me. Thank you very much!! My questions are: 1. It says on the RBS website that the courses at Covent Garden are three years long and begin in September. Is this the same as a university course, meaning it would begin in September 2014 and finish in summer 2017, with term breaks in the summer, etc.? If so, what month exactly does the course end in? 2. What sort of training background would someone need to have had to be accepted to one of the full-time courses for 16-18 year olds? Provided someone had been studying ballet from a young age and were an exceptional dancer, even if they'd had no training at anywhere prestigious before applying, is it possible that they could be accepted to the school? I would also like to ask if anyone knows how different procedure at the school was back in the mid-1970s? What I'd like to know is: 3. Were the full-time courses for 16-18 year olds still offered then, were they the same length as they are now, and did they give academic training alongside their dance training back then the same way they do now? 4. Were scholarships still offered then with the same or similar conditions as they are now? 5. Does anyone know what teacher training courses they offered back then – are they similar to the ones they offer now? I'm especially interested in the Course in Ballet Education Practice. In fact, any information about becoming a ballet teacher in the mid-70s would be really helpful, even if it doesn't involve the RBS! Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, and I'd very much appreciate any help anyone would be kind enough to give me!